People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that Morgan Stanley was is in talks to sell a piece of its commodities-trading business to a sovereign wealth fund from Qatar, a move that could help it avoid being hit by new proprietary trading rules while still retaining a piece of the lucrative business.

It's not clear what the whole business might be worth, though industry analysts estimate it could be worth more than $2 billion.

"We are studying the proposal for the commodities exchange," Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani told reporters in Doha on Monday. "We are looking at it seriously."

Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world, needs an outlet for its large state oil and gas revenues and its sovereign wealth fund has invested widely over the past year, mainly in Europe. Commodities, energy and luxury goods companies remain a particular focus of the emirate's investments. Its other commodities-focused investments include European Goldfields, now part of Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO, ELD.T). In April it said would invest $250 million in a Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) natural resources fund.

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